how much house can I afford? 10 points, thanks. ?
April 11, 2008 · Print This Article
berrytrain asked:
I don’t like those calulators, I just want some solid opinion.
I don’t like those calulators, I just want some solid opinion.
I make $16 an hour, full-time. I have no debt, no car payments, etc.
I have 30K in savings. My credit score is 780. I am a first time home
buyer, 47 years old. I live in Denver, Colorado. Do you need any other pertinent information? Thanks.
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Josh Dunaway has been a certfied Realtor in the suburban Chicagoland area for over 20 years. Aside from starting his own real estate company, he also owns a mortgage company as well.
to accomodate for the economy and b safe about it get a house in the 400-500K range if ur feelin risky go 600-700K
find what type of prperty you want, then see if you can afford it shop around
I’d say your pretty much set, just head into a real-estate office like re-max and double check. $16 an hour isn’t so bad, and considering you have 30k in savings I say go for it. As long as you keep your priorities straight, and make sure you buy a house you can pay for over time then your ok. (Get a fixed rate, adjustable ratec can jump after liek 10 years, and that’s not what you want) Also, make sure the little things like paying your bills comes before you get your car, a new video-game, or whatever it is you like to do!
120,000 to 140,000. You want to make sure you have plenty for repairs, etc. Also, if you have children etc would factor into this. You could go higher but, this would be very reasonable.
Figure about 28% of your monthly take home income for your house payment. Somewhere around $600 per month. That is to include prnicipal, interest, taxes and insurance. Your $30K savings will probably drop to about $25000 after closing costs, inspections, utility deposits and prepaids are deducted (unless you have another source for these fees).
There are many fees that a buy must pay and these fees catch unsuspecting home buyers off guard. Do your research.
here is what i know as i just bought my first house, you need to come up with 5 percent down payment, you should be able to get that with your credit score, you will need closing costs, which can range as high as 12000 dollars, and you must be prepared to pay that if it is that high, you need to have 6 months of house payments in the bank after you buy, and housing payments can not be more than 32 percent of your gross monthly income. i dont know what house prices are in your state, but if you be somewhere around a 225, 000 house, so you could look at homes that are going for around 250, 000, as in some cases, you can get around 25,000 off the asking price.
Normally banks look at your income and use a sliding percentage. If you are young, they would require that house payments not exceed 25%. If you are older, and earning more money, they might slide that to 40%.
Thanks to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are responsible for the recent mess, mortgage brokers or banks who sell their loans to the aforementioned entities, usually place the percent at 50%.
Do not purchase a house if you are paying 50% of your income to service the loan. You will eventually not be able to afford it. If a problem occurs, either with the house, or with your health, you will not be able to service the loan.
Wanting to own your own place is a desirable trait. Doing it properly will benefit you the rest of your life.
Good Luck.
I understand that lenders are asking for 20% down these days of tighter credit.
Ball park - try to keep the house under $170K and plan on taxes, assessments, insurance, maintenance and higher utility rates than an apartment.
Well, 2 years ago you would have been qualified for a $500,000 house. Now, you have to decide what YOU can afford. Obviously, past conventional wisdom was dangerous. Be very cautious in your buying decision. You may be in a highly vulnerable housing market. Watch for declining market values and frequent foreclosure. Interest rates are going up and values are going down. Be careful!
For goodness sake, don’t listen to the first answer, you will soon be a statistic like so many today.
The total mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) should be about l/3 of you annual salary of 33,280. In other words find something that the monthly payments will be less than $1100 per month. This will allow you to have money to eat, have a little entertainment, pay for the next auto, gas and maintenance without putting you into a major financial crunch.
When contacting a real estate agent, give the above parameters and insist the he stay within them. You know his commission fee is based on the price. Don’t let him earn his money to your detriment.
You sound like a sensible person. I wish you well.
if you make under 40k you can afford maybe a 60k house, but
you should make at least 50k to buy a house according to the wall street journal
wait till next summer. u ‘ll be able to buy that same home in mind for only half what it’s worth now.
veteran real estate investor